Vehicle tow bar



T. BARNES VEHICLE TOW BAR May 5, 1925.

Filed May 22. 1925 170x145 jaw/as 7757/7/35! ZfW h Patented May 5, 1925.

THOMAS BARNES,

PATENT 'oFF cE.

or oennn 'n ran.

VEHICLE row BAR.

Application filed' m 22,

To all whom it may concern: 7

Be it known that I, THOMAS BARNES- a citizen of the United States',,residing at Ogden, in the county of lVeber and State of Utah, have invented certain-new and useful ljn'iprovements in Vehicle Tow Bars, 4 of whichthe following is'a specification,

In carrying out the, "present invention it is my purposeto provide a tow bar for vehicles whereinjthe same maybe readily collapsed into a small compass for facilitating transportation, i 1 e a a A further purpose'ofn1yinvention resides in the-provision of suclra tow bar that comprising a plurality of tele'scopio sections thatmay be readily extended' when it. is desiredto employfthe bar in towing a ma: chine, effective meansv being provided between the sections for preventing the co-llapsing of the same while in operation.

A still further purpose of my invention. is the provision of such an article that embraces the desired features of simplicity, durability, cheapnessof manufacture, the

device comprisingrelatively few parts and and when 1t 1s desired to extend the tow these corelated in such a manner as to reduce the liability of derangement to a minimum. i 1

The natureand advantages of the invention will be better understood when thefollowing detailed description is read in connection with the accompanying drawings, the invention residing in the construction, combination, and, arrangement of parts as claimed. g

In the drawings [forming part of this application, like numerals of reference indicate similar parts in theseveral views, and wherein: v

Figure 1, is an elevation of my bar ex-v tended; I I a Figure 2'is an enlarged fragmentary longitudinal cross section between a pair of the bar sections. i

Referring to the drawings in detail, my invention comprises a plurality of sections designated 5 6 and 7,, respectively. a Each of these sections is in the form of relatively elongated tubular members and of sucha nature as to permit of afree sliding movement of a section 6 within the section (rand sliding movement of the section 7 within the section6. n I

The front ends of the sections'5 and 6 are flanged inwardly at as 8, the inner wall of these flanges being beveled as at 9. The

1923. Serial no) 640,675.

oppositejends of the sections 6 and 7 are formed with outwardly extending flanges 10, the inner faces thereof being beveled as at 11, these bevel faces adapted for close con tact withthe said bevel faces 9 of the flanges 8 of the sections 5 and 6 for limiting the outward sliding movement of the sections with respect to each other.

lVithin the sections 6 and 7 thesaid outwardly flanged ends thereof arefltransverse sleeves 12 slidable within the opposite ends of which areheaded pins 13, it being understood, of course, that the opposite sides of each of the tubes 6 and 7 are PIOVIClGCl witl'r openings for permitting adjacent of the projection ofthe said pins outwardly of the. tube in a manner clearly shown in Figure 2. As a means for forcing these pins outwardly through the" said openings within the tubes there is provided within the said sleeves 12 and between the heads of said pins 13 expansion springs 14. hen it is desired to slide the tubes inwardly of eachother-the pins 13 are depressed beneath the surface of their respective tubes bar as per Figure 1 the sections are merely slid forwardly and in view of the beveled will ride inwardly within the sleeve for allowing this action, it, of course, being apparent that the maln purpose of-these pins is to prevent the collapse of the tow bar when in position between two machines.

The front end of the. tube 7 1s screwthreaded and has positioned thereon a- The opposite end of this rod is screwthreaded at 19 and carriesa nut and washer 20' and 21, respectively. Between the said washer 21 and cap 15 and encircling said rod 16 isan expansion spring22,.these elements effectively providing a shock absorbingmeans for the tow bar when the same is interconnected between two machines, it being obvious that'as soon as a blow 1s oocasioned upon the tow bar the rod 16 will "slide forwardly for compressing the spring and taking up the shock from the bar that would otherwise be occasioned in the application of such structure.

Upon the outer end of the section 5 and at one side thereof is secured one end of a chain section Upon the opposite side of the section to which is attached the end or the chain 23 there is provided a key slot 21-, it being obvious that the chain 23 is adapted for engaging around the front axle of the machine to be towed after which the chain may be inserted through the key slot Bl. and moved forwardly within the slot for etiectively maintaining the chain therein.

In view of the above description it is believed by me that the operation and ad vantages of a tow bar of the present character will be readily appreciated by those skilled in the art and although I have herein shown and described the preferred embodiment of the present invention, it is nevertheless to be understood that minor changes may be made therein without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention as claimed.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new and desire to. secure by Letters Patentis:

A tow bar comprising hollow sections arranged to telescope one within the other,

the inner section being provided at its end with an annular flange having a bevelled face, and the outer section provided at its end with an internally located flange having a bevelled face, the bevelled faces of the flanges adapted to engage each other when the sections are extended with relation to each other, a sleeve located within and disposed transversely of the inner section, the inner section being provided with openings which register with the ends of the sleeve, a coiled spring housed within the sleeve, and pins loosely mounted in the openings and having heads which bear against the ends of the spring, the parts being so arranged that the pins are disposed transversely across the edge of the outer section when the sections are extended with relation to each other and the ends of the pins bear against the inner surface of the outer section when the sections are moved one within the other whereby the pins serve to hold the tow bar in a collapsed condition.

In testimony whereof I altix my signatur-e.

THOBIAS BARNES. 

